Meet Virginia
by Jamaica
Summary: Based on the song with the same title, this is a short story about a blonde waitress. Alternate universe and set in the real world.


**Author's Note:** Squaresoft owns character's name and physical appearances. Train owns "Meet Virginia" the song. I own the story.

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**Pieces of Paper**

**"Meet Virginia"**

_She doesn't own a dress; her hair is always a mess  
__If you catch her stealin', she won't confess  
__She's beautiful_

The door to the diner opened with the familiar ring. Quistis Trepe stepped wearily past the threshold, tired from her day of higher education and unwilling, nevertheless bore the need to, gain the little help in monetary means for the aforementioned higher education. She swept her strawberry blond hair into a tight ponytail, only to curse out loud when the rubber band unexpectedly snapped in her hands. She sighed, ruffled up her strands with slender fingers as she made her way toward the kitchen's end, where the changing rooms were located. Quistis dropped the all-too-heavy backpack down on the floor and opened her personal drawer, which she locked with one of those cheap metal combination locks bought from Wal-Mart down the street because one could never be too careful, and she couldn't afford to lose anything worth more than a few dollars.

Quistis changed quickly. She could sense the impatience radiating from her coworker outside by the counter. Selphie Tilmitt wasn't an awful girl to work with, but once she got annoyed it stood out as plainly on her face as those huge pure emerald eyes of hers. And she looked positively furious at the moment. Quistis spotted an old brown rubber band lying on one of the benches. Disregarding the fact it could have been anywhere for the past however many days, she grabbed the oily strip and wrapped it around her hair, yelping slightly as she felt few strands break and snag. Not a time to worry about that.

Selphie gave her an exasperated scoff when she finally emerged from the back. "Where have you been? What took you so long? I should've been in my class fifteen minutes ago!" The brunette girl zoomed into the back and shoved the apron into Quistis' hands. "I have a test in two days and I'm missing my review!"

Quistis put on the apron and could only smile apologetically before Selphie's figure vanished behind her. She said her greetings to the head cook, Cid, then promptly proceeded to wipe the tables and check the brewed coffee.

S_he smokes a pack a day, wait, that's me but anyway  
__She doesn't care a thing about that, hey  
__he thinks I'm beautiful  
__Meet Virginia_

She looked out the café's window and spotted a recognizable figure standing by the broken phone booth. He seemed to be around her age, perhaps older by a year or two. He always simply stood there, smoking a cigarette and glancing at the passersby. Never once did he came into the café, or even turned to gaze inside. Of course she didn't know who he was, where he came from and all those unnecessary facts. She only registered the black jean jacket.

A dating couple strolled in and broke her concentration. Quistis smiled widely, a practiced one required for the job, and took down their order of drinks while handing them a menu each. The boy smiled his thanks while the girl ignored her presence. She had seen many of those cases, where one side was more devoted and became clingy after a while. At a diner one saw the real side of people that normal folks cared too less to hide.

S_he never compromises, loves babies and surprises  
__Wears hi-heels when she exercises  
__Ain't that beautiful  
__Meet Virginia_

Quistis hopped from the table to a booth in the corner, making sure her white teeth were flashed in the most genial way as she walked through. A father and daughter were having an involved conversation while a younger child sat impatiently from curiosity. The child laughed as soon as he saw Quistis. It was a nice sweet sound, Quistis decided, naturally expected from a kid of seven years. Out of instinct, she reached into her pocket and pulled out one of those little wooden umbrellas saved for just these occasions and handed it to the kid. The child giggled and accepted the toy eagerly. The daughter also smiled appreciatively, her coffee brown eyes twinkled in warmth. Quistis' own blue eyes wandered absentmindedly to the door, caught more customers and returned to the front after another smile offered to the Asian family.

As soon as she made her way to the newcomers with the pen and pad she noticed the eyes scanning her from one of the two boys. Her heart jumped a bit but she ignored it. It wasn't that unusual. People gawked at her frequently ever since she had started working here five months ago. She still kept the smile and cheerfully asked for their orders. The redhead thought for a minute while the blonde, the one that had stared at her, impishly grinned. Quistis subconsciously backed away a step as she wrote down the drinks and handed them their menus. The blonde reached out to her arm just before she pulled away; she almost frowned.

_Well, she wants to be the queen  
__Then she thinks about her scene  
__Pulls her hair back as she screams  
__I don't really wanna be the queen_

"Quistis! Telephone!" called her manager from the counter.

Saved by the welcomed intrusion, Quistis made her way back, a bit too quickly. Her brother was supposed to call her around this time; she chided herself for forgetting. Her heart sank further as she remembered the reason why he had to call.

Edea handed her the phone with a look of don't-stay-too-long-cause-I-pay-you written on her eyebrows. Quistis had to shrug helplessly. It really wasn't her fault.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Yeah, how did it go?" Seifer's crisp voice resonated in the receiver.

"It was okay. I knew half of what's on there."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure you did fine. It's math."

"I'm not you."

She heard him chuckle. "Listen, kiddo, it's not the end of the world. And – wait a second, baby – and you don't have to know calculus backwards and forward to become a zoologist."

He's at Squall's again. Quistis inwardly smirked. She envied the passion that her brother and his lover shared. She wanted one like that, too. Then she remembered that she had a time limit. "So...did we get it?"

H_er daddy wrestles alligators, Mama works on carburetors  
__Her brother is a fine mediator for the President  
__Well, here she is again on the phone just like me hates to be alone  
__We just like to sit at home, and rip on the President  
__Meet Virginia_

A pause.

"No,"

Quistis felt like dropping directly onto the floor. She managed not to. "Oh."

She heard Seifer sigh. "Look, Quis, we'll pull through. You just might have to wait a little longer before you can get to graduate school. You know, take a year off and such?"

Her mind's breaking. "Dad won't yield? No matter how..." she trailed off.

"You know how he is. Money's his life and he's not going to part with such a huge amount just from Mom and my goading. You'll be fine. You have enough to finish this year and graduate; we made sure of that."

" … And…you?"

"Me. Well," his voice slid, "I'll think of something. I have only one more year and I'll be damned before I let that doctorate go."

A tapping nearby forced Quistis to swallow her remaining words. "Seif, I have to go. I…I'll see you in two hours, okay?"

"Yeah. I'm at Squall's."

"I know. Bye. Love you."

"Yeah. Love ya always. Bye."

_Well, she wants to live her life  
__Then she thinks about her lies  
__Pulls her hair back as she screams  
__I don't really wanna live this life_

She placed the receiver back onto its tan casing. Edea pointed to the table where the two boys sat. Quistis sighed and tried to put on her smile once again. She succeeded.

She made her way toward them. The blonde still smirked waywardly at her. He asked her about one of the entrées on the menu, inadvertently forcing her to bend down beside him. His eyes flowed immediately to her chest. She straightened up quickly, but he grabbed her arm. Her eyes widened and she tried to pull away. The redhead laughed. The blonde flashed his canines and his tattoo distorted with the expression. He was small but strong enough for her to feel a bruise forming on her skin. So she did the only other thing she could do besides calling for help. She slapped him squarely on the face.

The blonde jumped to his feet and glared at her with venom in his eyes. Frightened by the look he gave her, Quistis backed into the counter behind her. The redhead was no longer laughing but watching intently. The blonde advanced toward her menacingly, his expression contained a sharp edge. Quistis took in a breath.

The redhead eyed around them and suddenly stopped. He went to grab onto his friend's sleeves to pull him away. The blonde gave him a look, apparently noticed something, and backed off. They made their way to the door and pushed it open harshly. The blonde gave a final look at the figure smoking outside before he spit on the ground and left with his friend.

Quistis breathed a sigh of relief as the door slammed. She pushed away from the counter and wiped her forehead, discovering without surprise that it's sweaty. She then straightened herself up and practiced to smile. She still succeeded.

_She only drinks coffee at midnight when the moment is not right  
Her timing is quite unusual  
You see her confidence is tragic and her intuition magic  
And the shape of her body - unusual_

Edea and Cid were watching from the back. Cid nodded at her smile; Edea wore an unreadable expression. Quistis shrugged and went to get the hot coffee. Her pencil fell from her pocket, so she bent down to retrieve it. As she stood up she saw a group of teenagers, all dressed formally and extravagantly, waltzed into the diner. It looked like they were going to some fancy ball, perhaps Homecoming, and simply wanted a bite before the big event. They were laughing and yelling and being exceedingly noisy. But they're young and they're happy. And that was all that mattered.

Quistis ignored the stabbing pain from her heart and went to serve them. A couple of the boys merely glanced at her, since their attention was fully devoted to the females in their clique. As Quistis busied among them she felt the residual adrenaline rampaging within her veins. She resisted the urge to yell and tell them to leave. Because they had the wealth and she didn't. Because they did not have to fake a smile to crude punks and work as a measly waitress. Because they were happy.

Her hands were shaking as she gave the group their check. When she discovered that they had left no tip when she was cleaning up, her anger and frustration finally emerged. She threw down the rag and slumped into a chair nearby. Trying hard to regain her composure, and failing, Quistis let strands of her hair fall to cover her eyes.

Edea must've noticed how distraught she appeared, for she told Quistis the option to leave early if she chooses. I'll handle the rest, Edea said, don't worry about it. It's almost to the end of your shift anyway. Quistis looked up and attempted to smile her thanks. Her words reached out but her smile, for once, didn't.

_Meet Virginia  
I can't wait to  
Meet Virginia  
Yea_

It simply wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that she had to wait to be what she wanted merely because she lacked things that almost everyone lacked to some degree. It wasn't fair that her brother, who had seen the edge of his dream to fulfillment, was pulled back vehemently right before he reached it. It wasn't fair that they were born in a family without love and without care. They had suffered enough.

At least Seifer had someone to fall to during situations like this. Who did she have?

Quistis finally stood up from her seat and slowly made her way toward the back. The door chime dinged, and out of habit she looked at the entrance to see who had came in. Her eyes sparked when she recognized the familiar black jacket. Did he finally decide to come in for some coffee?

The boy was quite handsome. With dark indigo eyes and auburn hair his features popped out nicely. He saw her and smiled. A warm smile that she couldn't remember when was the last time she had been offered it.

Quistis walked briskly back to the kitchen. She changed methodically, tearing off the rubber band with a chunk of hair yet not feeling anything. She picked up the backpack, hoisted it over her shoulder, and strode out.

The boy was leaning on the counter with a cup in his hand. As Quistis headed toward the door he fell in step behind her, but kept his distance. She looked at him briefly. He lifted his cup.

"Buy you something?"

She didn't want to point out that since she worked there the joy of caffeine was lost on her. He was being unusually nice, which roused suspicion and Quistis kept walking. As she pushed the door open, she heard his soft laugh.

"I'm not stalking you. Just thought you could use some cheering up."

She turned toward him as they went out onto the street. They stared at each other for a while, analyzing each other. He finally spoke.

"Walk you to your next destination?"

She nodded, then smiled, thinking of the reactions once she gets to her brother's current location, from both parties. Her smile felt real this time. Genuine.

_Well, she wants to be the queen  
Then she thinks about her scenes  
Well, she wants to live her life  
Then she thinks about her lies  
Pulls her hair back as she screams  
I don't really wanna be the queen  
I don't really wanna live . . ._

Maybe there's something worth looking forward to after all.

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End file.
